China's wild wild west boasts a rich and diverse intangible cultural heritage.

To provide an opportunity to keep it alive, the Ministry of Culture and provincial government of Shaanxi identified nearly 100 genres to be presented in the ancient city Xi'an in northwestern China.

 

Nearly 1,000 performers and artists from China's 56 ethnic groups have taken part in the audition. Most of them are recent inheritors of their unique culture. Two thirds of those heading into the final performance are from ethnic minority groups.

Every genre is distinctive, from the old tunes of Huayin to Shaanxi province， from the Inner Mongolian Long Song to the traditional Uygur music Muqam and drum dance from Tibet Autonomous Region, just name a few.

Along with various performances are exhibitions to provide more details and illustration with pictures. Another highlight is that the exhibition includes nearly ten thousand antiques returned from overseas.

The six-day event runs through next Monday.